Understanding Crypto – The Star Wars Edition

In case you didn’t notice, tomorrow is May 4th, which means only one thing… “May the Fourth Be With You!”. It is, of course, Star Wars Day! So, we thought we’d have a little fun and introduce you to crypto via everyone’s favorite sci-fi saga.

…Or as Yoda would put it, “Introduce you to crypto we will. Read you must!”

Crypto & Star Wars – Really?

Yes, really! Bear with us…

When Star Wars: A New Hope first premiered in 1977, no one would have believed the hysteria that would follow. It gave birth to one of the most celebrated franchises of all time, bursting with fantasy, adventure, and mysticism. Not only that, but it served to highlight the cultural adoption of film in general. This was a watershed moment for millions of people who now accepted the movies were much more than they merely appeared to be. Are you getting where we’re going with this?

…The sci-fi film scene was, in 1977, very similar to crypto and blockchain today. Some don’t know about this technology, others are skeptical of it, but the vast majority are waiting to embrace it, accepting it into their day-to-day lives. If only it was more understandable…

…Enter CoinMetro!

So, let’s further entwine crypto and Star Wars with a character rundown!

Bitcoin: R2-D2

Everyone’s favorite trash-can on legs! Adored by all Star Wars fans, R2’s role in the saga is generally supportive. In the original trilogy, he is the first on the scene, and throughout he’s always there to lend a ‘hand’ to push forward the story – whether it be through acts as grand as saving starships or as simple as unlocking doors for his compadres.

Bitcoinwas the first decentralized, peer-to-peer digital cash system and, when launched in 2009, it generated a new belief in digital currency and blockchain, solutions based on cryptography, privacy, and technical soundness.

Without R2D2, there would be no Star Wars story… Likewise, where would blockchain be without Bitcoin?

Statistics

Public Launch: January 2009

Ticker symbol: BTC or XBT

Max Supply: 21,000,000 BTC

Ethereum: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

A primary figure in the saga, Vader has an interesting story arc. Anakin Skywalker goes from boy-wonder to arch enemy, eventually redeeming himself and saving the galaxy. His fall from grace, into the dark side, is a central element of the saga.

Like Anakin (and Darth Vader), the Ethereum platform, powered by its Ether (ETH) token, has encouraged a wider revolution in blockchain thanks to its focus on dApps – which allow potentially any concept to be tokenized, thus utilizing blockchain and helping to bring the epic technology into the mainstream!

It was said that Anakin would defeat the Sith and bring balance to the Force… and Ethereum’s goal is to bring balance to blockchain by providing increased use-cases for the awesome technology.

…and if you’re looking for a fall from grace, you won’t find many better than ETH, which rose to an all-time high of $1,389 USD in January 2017, before crashing to $84.66 USD exactly 12 months later. Talk about the dark side. Ouch!

Statistics

Public Launch:July 2015

Ticker symbol: ETH

Max Supply: 105,666,169 ETH

Bitcoin Cash: C3-PO

Etiquette and protocol droid, C3-PO, is blessed with an ability to translate, to technically modify, and, of course, to constantly argue with his close compatriot.

We’re not suggesting that Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are partners-in-crime (like ‘R2’ and ‘3-PO’ are in the films)… far from it! The two have definitely had their arguments, to say the least! Bitcoin Cash, the peer-to-peer digital cash system, was formed as part of a Bitcoin hard fork, the mother of all crypto-based arguments when a community cannot agree on an upgrade and decide to go their separate ways.

Bitcoin Cash, like ‘3-PO’ brings a lot of technical advantages to the galaxy, they also both have a number of notable use-cases and a pretty decent sense of humor…

Statistics

Public Launch: August 2017

Ticker symbol: BCH

Max Supply: 21,000,000 BCH

XRP: Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious

Loved and hated. Feared and respected. The Emperor is the ultimate galactic baddie.

In the Cryptoverse, Ripple’s XRP is both loved and hated – yet always respected – for similar reasons. Crypto die-hards hate that it’s not what they call a ‘real’ crypto, owing to the fact that it’s operated by a company and therefore not entirely decentralized. Its target market is also banks and financial institutions, helping them process payments and make international remittances faster, cheaper and more reliable. Crypto Force-Sensitives are not so keen on banks or any form of centralization.

However, everyone loves the fact that XRP beautifully combines the best and most applicable aspects of blockchain technology and the crypto ecosystem. It’s an incredible invention, with a very specific, very helpful and generally awesome use-case.

Palpatine’s expert maneuvers and his ability to ‘play’ the political system around him, discretely covering all bases (Jedi, Republic, Empire) reflects on XRP’s utility and usability. Its sheer speed and efficiency have enabled it to find a home in several banking use-cases while maintaining the respect of the Cryptosphere.

Statistics

Public Launch: 2012

Ticker symbol: XRP

Max Supply: 99,991,658,131 XRP

Litecoin: Rey

Dubbed the silver to Bitcoin’s gold, shortly after Litecoin launched, it quickly gained a loyal fanbase, given its technical improvements over the Bitcoin Core network as well as its ability to maintain relative support and value despite volatile markets.

Rey is the chief protagonist of the latest trilogy (Episodes VII – IX), quickly gaining her own fair share of fans. She has now developed into the newest (and possibly last?) Jedi – a circumstance that reminds us of Litecoin’s journey to becoming a real fan-favorite among other cryptos. With many stating that the speed, efficiency, and integrity of the Bitcoin successor as good signals to a big future for the coin.

Statistics

Public Launch: October 2011

Ticker symbol: LTC

Max Supply: 84,000,000 LTC

COIN: Obi Wan Kenobi

No one does more to protect the light-side and try to turn Vader back to the light than Obi-Wan, he’s the defender of everything that’s good. As a Jedi-master, he’s the torch-bearer for routing out evil, defending the innocent and protecting freedoms.

Kinda reminds us of…well, us! CoinMetro is all about transparency, being open and honest. We’re constantly Moving Crypto Forward, pushing a bit of a revolution to show people that crypto and blockchain can be trustworthy and beneficial to society. Because of this, we’ve lobbied politicians to improve legislation and also built the most comprehensive compliance programme in the industry, running compulsory KYC-checks from day one – before it was even a thing! We also check against Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing, through Source of Wealth checks. No Sith allowed!

Our fully-rounded crypto ecosystem runs on COIN (XCM), which is used to pay for all services on our exchange and crypto trading platforms and a whole bunch of other stuff that’s coming very soon! Sign up to claim your CoinMetro crypto wallet and stuff it full of XCM, now!

Statistics

Public Launch: 2018

Ticker symbol: XCM

Max Supply: 327,832,136 XCM

From Padawan to Jedi Master – Trade With CoinMetro!

New to crypto? No problemo. Let our Jedi Master platforms guide you through the process. We have 3 crypto exchange / trading platforms to choose from, separated by user experience level. So, whatever your experience, there’s a home for you at CoinMetro!

PLUS… If you sign up, pass our KYC checks and make one fiat to crypto trade, we’ll give you 20 XCM tokens as a thank you! There’s never been a better time to explore the crypto galaxy, not so far far away.